I think my solid state head packed up yesterday

[Cat Burrito]

Any ideas people?

I plugged it in for soundcheck and there was an almighty bang. The cab and cables were all fine. I now get an intermittent signal with the bass sounding quieter, the bass sounding like a flanger is plugged in and the volume going up and down but much quieter than it should be.

It was my second head as I mainly use a vintage valve head but this is / was good for smaller gigs. My friend who knows a bit seemed to think it might be a dry joint? Either way it's 15yrs old and sounds like I won't be repairing it

[essexbasscat]

Dont' sound too good there B.

THere is someone in London that provides estimates before doing repairs though

All the best with it

T

[flyfisher]

Did the bang come from the speaker, like a louder-than-usual switch-on thump, or was it something else?

Was there any smell of burning, or (if you know what it's like) any smell of an exploded electrolytic capacitor? Though that would be more of a pop than a bang in my book.

If you're comfortable taking such things apart (and know how to handle potentially dangerous voltages safely) then it might be worth doing so and having a close look around the board(s) - on both sides - looking for any signs of burning or discolouration on the board itself or any of the components. Also have a good look around the mechanical bits such as sockets, switches and pots as these items are subjected to physical wear and tear.

If you're really keen and think it might be a dry joint, then it might be worth going over it with a soldering iron and reflowing the joints, though this can take a fair time and is not really recommended unless you're competent with an iron.

Good luck - it's a bummer when stuff breaks.

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1018209' date='Nov 9 2010, 10:11 PM']Did the bang come from the speaker, like a louder-than-usual switch-on thump, or was it something else?

Was there any smell of burning, or (if you know what it's like) any smell of an exploded electrolytic capacitor? Though that would be more of a pop than a bang in my book.[/quote]
Yeah maybe more of a pop, no smell.

My friend runs a music shop & we did talk quotes... I think it sounds like an excuse to buy one of those Orange Terror Bass heads

[flyfisher]

A burst electrolytic usually smells in a particularly characteristic way (but difficult to describe) so if there was no smell than it maybe another component. Might be easy to see though.

Still, it seems you're already looking on the bright side.

[charic]

I was thinking a capacitor too as it could account for the flanger like sound IIRC

[JTUK]

For someone who knows what they are doing, this doesn't sound like a 'retire' job.

I could put you in touch with a guy in Kent..this sounds right up his street.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1018238' date='Nov 9 2010, 11:00 PM']Yeah maybe more of a pop, no smell.

My friend runs a music shop & we did talk quotes... I think it sounds like an excuse to buy one of those Orange Terror Bass heads [/quote]
You know you want a Terror - I`m betting you blew it up on purpose, as an excuse to get one

[umph]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1017845' date='Nov 9 2010, 04:53 PM']Any ideas people?

I plugged it in for soundcheck and there was an almighty bang. The cab and cables were all fine. I now get an intermittent signal with the bass sounding quieter, the bass sounding like a flanger is plugged in and the volume going up and down but much quieter than it should be.

It was my second head as I mainly use a vintage valve head but this is / was good for smaller gigs. My friend who knows a bit seemed to think it might be a dry joint? Either way it's 15yrs old and sounds like I won't be repairing it[/quote]

sounds like one half of the output stage has gone, not ideal.

could be pretty expensive to fix

[chris_b]

This guy's in Godalming, is that close enough?

www.stevesamps.co.uk

[MarkBassChat]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1017845' date='Nov 9 2010, 07:53 PM']I plugged it in for soundcheck and there was an almighty bang. The cab and cables were all fine. I now get an intermittent signal with the bass sounding quieter, the bass sounding like a flanger is plugged in and the volume going up and down but much quieter than it should be.[/quote]I'm not sure about "flanger like sound" but usually "an almighty bang" means problems with output transistors. What amp is it? In some amps there are integrated circuits that are cheap, and in some amps (e.g. old Trace-Elliot or Marshall) there are hard to get and expensive transistors. So what is the brand of the amp and what is the power?[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1017845' date='Nov 9 2010, 07:53 PM']It was my second head as I mainly use a vintage valve head but this is / was good for smaller gigs. My friend who knows a bit seemed to think it might be a dry joint? Either way it's 15yrs old and sounds like I won't be repairing it[/quote]Some 15-years old amps are still great (Trace-Elliot and Ampeg as an example).

Mark